Reminder: 10Th Online School Championships - 8 February 2020.

It is expected that Blake Govender (Oakhill School) will be playing in order tomaintain his spot in the Protea Team.

MSSA is proud to announce that it will once again hold its 10th School Provincial Online Championships on 8 February 2020.

The championship may be used by gamers to qualify for eligibility to be selected for the National Squads, from which the National Teams shall be drawn, should MSSA need to choose a team for any of the titles played in such championships.

MSSA's School Online Championships has become South Africa's largest official online championship. It is an event that lasts from 10H00 until 18H00 and has proved itself to be a most enjoyable event.

The esports titles to be played in all MSSA's school championships and leagues are as follows:

Period/genre	Title	Platform	Age restriction	Players
Shooter	CS GO	PC,	16	5 v 5
	Paladins	PC/console	12	5 v 5
Sport	FIFA '20	PC	3	1 v 1
	PES 2020	PS 4	3	1 v 1
MOBA	Dota 2	PC	12	5 v 5
	League of Legends	PC	12	5 v 5
	Clash Royale	Mobile	12	1 v 1
	VainGlory	Tablet/cell	12	3 v 3
Fighting	Street Fighter V	Console	12	1 v 1
Card	HearthStone	Mobile	7	1 v 1

MSSA would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the dedicated Educators for ensuring that the school teams are ready-and-able and for giving up so much of their time and patience. Only once the learners have left school will they really comprehend what the Educators have done for them.

The championship would not be possible without the continued support from Educators.

Thank you!

Tournament Structure:

As per the MSSA's rules, being:

• If less than six players, the championship shall be a Round Robin Championship
• If 6 to 10 players the championship shall be four rounds as played to the Swiss System
• If 11 to 30 players the championship shall be five rounds as played to the Swiss System

Eligibility:

• Any player/team who is a Registered Player affiliated to a school affiliated to MSSA may enter through such school club.

Entry fee:

• Entry is R35.00 per Registered Player.
• Only fully-paid-up Registered Players may participate in this event.

Entry date:

• Entries need to be submitted by no later than Wednesday, 5 February 2019.

Registration:

• To register, the Educator-in-charge must complete the Google Drive document. The entry form may be found on Google Drive. Educators are to download the entry form, completed the downloaded form, and e-mail it to Mind Sports South Afica. The link for such form is: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1M07rv0ER9jqE25IqMNZqGlsUPqJaE_X2/edit#gid=1844490715

Age restrictions:

Educators must ensure that their teams/players are compliant with South Africa's age restrictions per game title. Under-aged players shall not be allowed to compete.

Medals:

Medals shall be awarded to the first three gamers for both men and women in the following categories:

• MEN: The top three places (1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd)).
• WOMEN: The top three places (1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd))

Please note that the medals shall be awarded to the players at the next LAN championship in which such team/player enters and participates.

Colours:

• School Provincial Colours: All Players that win all of their Matches at a Provincial Championship will earn School Provincial Colours. All Players who score within the top 50% in a specific Period at a any two (or more) Provincial Championships, and who also score within the top 50% at a National Championship in the same period and in the same year, will earn School Provincial Colours.

When and Where:

• 8 February 2020
• The first round will start at 10H00. Players shall be given 60 minutes to complete each round. 
• Players must all be on-line at 9H00.

The championship is accredited as being of the same status as a provincial championship. This means that the championship shall be used for the following:

• The awarding of school provincial colours;
• The awarding of medals for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places for both men and women;
• The ability to qualify for National Team Trials. 

As usual Trials shall be done at a LAN venue, and the team that can best represent South Africa shall then be selected.

Shout casting:

• The MSSA shall decide who may shout-cast the games.
• Anybody wishing to be appointed as a Shout-Caster must apply in writing to mindsportscorrespondence@gmail.com 

Also read:

• Why schools and universities should invest in esports.
• https://esportscommentator.blogspot.com/2019/09/entry-fees-for-provincial-and-national.html
• How school clubs affiliate for the 2020 season.

• 2020 Calendar of Events
• The various events held by Mind Sports South Africa.
• Why schools and universities should invest in esports.
• New National Team Selection Criteria
• Selecting the national Protea teams for Mind Sports South Africa.
• MSSA's umpiring course - 25 January 2020.
• The road to Eilat

Suzy Cube Update: May 25, 2018

#SuzyCube #gamedev #indiedev #madewithunity @NoodlecakeGames 

My apologies! The day just flew right by and I only realized I forgot to write an update about three hour ago! Another packed week, but mostly bug fixes, so let's dive in!

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Louard's game design sounding board and home of the Pro's and Con's reviews.

Interlude: A Very TAG Christmas

Written by Joe Pranevich

We all have our secrets, but the time has come to reveal one incident in the Secret and Absolutely True History of The Adventure Gamer. I tell you this now of my own free will and not because any well-armed elves are presently in my house, raiding my refrigerator looking for eggnog. That would be crazy. I'm not crazy, but maybe you'll disagree after you hear my tale.

Our story starts in the fall of 2014 when a guy called "Trickster" had a blog that a bunch of people liked. You might be familiar with it because it is this blog. Trickster grew tired of writing about games and wanted to write about Star Wars toys or something instead, so he handed over the keys to a couple of his long-time readers and took off. At least, that is what we wanted you to think, but the truth is stranger than fiction.

We each have our own stories, but for me it started while I was driving home from work one night that October. I had TAG on my brain and was disappointed that I would never get to read a review of Space Quest IV or LeChuck's Revenge. I pulled over to get some gas and spied a strange-looking trailer parked on the side of the road. It looked like something out of a renaissance fair, purple with wooden wheels and a bright red front door. I was just deciding whether to ask the gas station attendant about it when something smacked me on the back of the head.

I woke in darkness, my head covered in a sack and my arms tied. My unseen kidnapper ripped the sack off and my eyes struggled to focus in the harsh light. I tried to scream, but couldn't make more than a squeak. My head was swimming, but my eyes started to focus on a desk in front of me. Eight beakers were set in a row, each containing a different colored liquid. A ninth and larger beaker sat empty in the middle. It all seemed familiar somehow. A shape stepped out of the shadows and in one quick move pushed all the vials and beakers crashing to the floor where they broke into a million multi-colored shards. The liquids bubbled and popped as they mingled on the floor and the room was filled with an acrid smell not unlike licorice. In their place on a desk sat one giant but somehow jolly-looking boot. Attached to the boot was a red-suited leg. I traced the form with my still-focusing eyes to find a red-suited man reclining behind the desk.

"Ho. Ho. Ho.", he said.

When I was a kid, I always dreamed of meeting Santa. Very few of those dreams involved being tied to a chair when I did it.

He paused for a moment to let my eyes adjust to the light. We weren't alone: A raven-haired woman lay bound and gagged on the floor beside me, but she seemed uninjured. Her trailer looked like it had been ransacked. Tarot cards, now wet and stained by the fizzing liquids, lay in heaps on the floor. My gaze passed a broken abacus here, a cracked crystal ball there. My eyes were drawn to the red-suited man in front of me. His pose was relaxed, but his eyes burned into my very soul. I winced, realizing immediately that he knew all the nasty things I did in third grade. He probably made a list. To his left, I finally noticed an elf. His outfit looked jolly, but the red bow on the Louisville Slugger that he carried didn't make it any less intimidating.

"What… what do you want?" I finally stammered. I was far too old to believe in Santa, but when you have him sitting right in front of you, you Believe very quickly.

Santa sat forward, scraping more glass shards to the floor as he set his booted foot on the floor. He brought his red-cheeked face so close to mine that I could smell the candy canes on his breath. "We know your heart's deepest desires," he whispered. "But it will cost you."

"My… deepest desires?" What could he be talking about? "Seriously, you couldn't mean…"

Santa sat back in his chair and laughed a deep belly laugh. He put up his hand to wipe the tears running down his face. "Okay, okay. Maybe not your deepest desires. You can keep those to yourself. " I blushed.

The elf with the bat chimed in. "We know that you want to bring back The Adventure Gamer."

The Adventure Gamer! Of course, I wanted to bring that back, but that wasn't even in my top ten deepest desires. What were these guys thinking? I cleared my throat and tried to get into the spirit of the thing. When you're being kidnapped by Santa, what else can you do? "Does that mean that you can bring Trickster back?"

Santa paused and let out a breath. "No," he paused again. "Nothing can bring him back. Not even to review a pre-release copy of a Quest for Glory-inspired game."

"But even without Trickster's fine style, there is still a chance to bring The Adventure Gamer back... and you have a part to play." Santa finished. I was speechless, but he clearly expected me to say something. Should I go for humble? Theatric? I was still tied and the last thing I wanted was to discover that Santa's elf friend doesn't just really love baseball.

"Tell me what I must do, oh Spirit of Christmas!" It sounded completely corny, but Santa laughed one of his red-cheeked belly laughs so I must have had the right idea. Even the elf cracked a smile.

Santa leaned forward as if to impart a secret. "Four sets of Goodly Spirits have been sent out around the…"

The elf coughed and Santa shot him an evil look. He cleared his throat and started again.

"Three sets of Goodly Spirits and some guy named Jim Walls have been sent around the world." He paused to see if the elf was going to complain again before continuing. "Four fates and four penances can bring The Adventure Gamer back."

My heart soared. Was it really possible to bring the site back? "What must I do?"

"You must be cursed!" the elf yelled. Even the gypsy lady on the floor jumped.

"Not a curse… a favor." Santa corrected him. "A favor with consequences for failure." This didn't seem like the right time to argue semantics. Santa pulled a candy cane and a square package out from his oversized pocket. He nibbled on the end of the cane while he fiddled with the box. "To keep The Adventure Gamer alive, you have to play and review this." He tossed a floppy disk labeled Merry Christmas from Melbourne House down on the table. I winced as it landed just inches from what was left of a pool of bubbling purple liquid.

"This? This is self-congratulatory adware. It's awful. It's barely even a game."

"But that's not all." Santa's tone turned deadly serious. "To keep The Adventure Gamer alive, you must review a different Christmas game every year. To miss even one year and…" He gestured to the bat that his elf friend still held.

"But…" I stammered. "Surely there can't be that many? What if we run out?"

The elf smiled. He liked the sound of that.

Santa's pocket buzzed and he pulled out a red and white striped phone. "Oh crud. Muriel's having difficulty finding the address. I told her to turn left at the fjord; how difficult could it be?" The elf shrugged. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to deal with this. When you awaken, you'll think this has all been a particularly stupid dream." Santa reached over and touched my forehead.

And that is why I review a different Christmas game every year.

                                                                                           

Merry Christmas! I hope you enjoyed our little holiday interlude. Come back tomorrow for A Christmas Adventure, a yule-tide classic from 1983.

Hitman 2 | Review, Trailer, Gameplay & Everything Else You Need To Know.

Hitman 2 | Preview, Trailer, Gameplay & Everything else you need to know.

Hitman 2 is the most recent passage in IO Interactive's magnificent stealth arrangement, accumulating a choice of stages instead of the main game's verbose excursion. You will by and by play as Agent 47 as he ventures to every part of the globe looking for targets he should kill by any and all conceivable means (Which he do with some cool methods). With improvement having as of late gone gold, it won't be long before we can play it ourselves.

So Here Pro-GamersArena has tried to compile everything related to Hitman 2 which you need to know including the latest news, trailer, gameplay, release date and more...


Quick Facts :

• Initial release date: 13 November 2018
• Developer: IO Interactive
• Genre: Stealth game
• Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
• Modes: Single-player video game, Multiplayer video game

Hitman 2 News : Development has officially gone gold !!

For those new to this, this implies advancement has found some conclusion and the diversion is playable from beginning to end. It's additionally entered creation, implying that plates are being printed and retail downloads are being accumulated. 

This was joined by another trailer displaying the Colombia level, which takes our Agent 47 into thick, suspicious wildernesses with plentiful open doors for inventive homicide. You can look at it beneath:

What is Hitman 2? What is it about?

Hitman 2 is a wholly fledged continuation of the 2016 reboot, despite the fact that it won't pursue the verbose model used by its forerunner. Rather, it will discharge in full with numerous levels at dispatch. Agent 47 will wander from sun-splashed boulevards to dull, moist rainforests looking for new targets which he have to assissinate at any rate (in unbelievably imaginative ways). We'd love to see the driven story developed, as well.

Hitman 2 release date – when is it coming out?

IO Interactive has affirmed that Hitman 2 is coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC on November 13, 2018. The individuals who wanna play the game somewhat prior then they have to buy gold and authority's release which gives at that point access to play the game four days sooner. 

Hitman 2 Gameplay Preview

The demo happens amid a race end of the week, where the assignment is to execute a driver amid the race itself. As any individual who plays Hitman knows, the horde ways that any mission can be finished, and the measure of concentrate that should be done to find these can take hours. For this E3 2018 demo, there were just a bunch of ways this murder can be accomplished, and fortunately, there was somebody close by to walk me through them in a smart mold. Here's the gameplay on the off chance that you wanna watch : 

The two focuses here are Robert and Sierra Knox, two previous individuals from Providence that have since abandoned. You start in a giant party zone of the celebration, out the back of the race itself. There's many individuals, a ton of clamor, and the primary errand is to make it into the VIP region. Instinct Mode is back, and by and by it features the key individuals of intrigue. It still reliably features the objective, or focuses, and also any individuals of intrigue, be them potential clueless unfortunate casualties to-be on the grounds that they have an outfit that will get us into the following room or a security protect to maintain a strategic distance from. 

There's additionally a stunning mechanics that features all the more abnormal state individuals to stay away from. Individuals with a white hover over their head will probably speculate you sooner, thus Agent 47 must remove additional consideration to remain from those. For instance, whenever dressed as a security protect, you should be more aware of chancing upon the head of security, as they'll know the names and faces of each individual from their staff. It's a super cool repairman that truly plays into the possibility of this being a reasoning individual's amusement which feels so genuine. 

And if you wanna know how he completes the mission then there's the gameplay above, there you can watch it, You will get the feel far better by watching it rather than reading it.

Hitman 2 Trailer : How does it look?

The uncover trailer for Hitman 2 is preposterously upscale. Described via Sean Bean, it highlights Agent 47 as he takes out a motorsport driver in an assortment of ruthlessly splendid ways.

PUBG 4 New Upcoming Updates Of 2019

PUBG  never stays back in surprising us. This time PUBG is bringing 4 new updates which will seriously shock you and will change the way you play the game.

  Though these updates are still a concept, PUBG is trying its best to convert these concepts into reality

               Below are the 4 surprising PUBG's new updates : 

1. RIOT SHIELD :
                                 
                     Before describing the riot shield, I must ask you if you have seen the official PUBG trailer video. If yes, then you might have seen a scene where a player was using a shield to protect himself from the bullets and grenades. If you have not watched the video, you can still watch it here.

Shield as seen in PUBG official video

                     PUBG Corp is trying to add this weapon into the game. But unlike pan(which also acts as a shield), the riot shield will have some health and after some firings or bursting of grenades, the shield will either break or just disappear.

2. Digital Binocular : 

                    A binocular will also be found in PUBG very soon. This digital binocular can zoom in up to 15×. It will help players to see up to a long distance and track enemies.

3. Truck vehicle : 

                   A new vehicle truck will also be added in the future. While playing PUBG you might have noticed destroyed or unusable trucks in various locations. A modified version of this truck will be added which will carry upto 8 persons.

Unusable Truck 

4. Harley Quinn and Joker outfit : 

               This was planned before the beginning of Season 4 but only the joker's hair was available in Season 5. But now there is a hope because we might be using it in Season 6.

Outfits

Note : Though there is no guarantee but the first three updates might be available in 0.13 update and the fourth update in Season 6.

Which of the above given updates,according to you, will be the most useful one and why? Please tell us in the comments section below.

If I Could Impose On A Moment Of Your Time?

As you all know DreamForge is embarking on a new path, new releases in a new format.

Although the Kickstarter platform has a lot of advantages, it only makes sense to put your best foot forward and provide your customers with the items they desire.

To that end, I have created a very short survey to get all of your feedback, not just about the StuG and Shadokesh, but about DreamForge and the general direction you would like to see.

Please... Take a moment and let your voice be heard.

SURVEY LINK

Thank you so very much for your time!

Game Boy Colorization Examples

In a previous blog entry discussed the various tools developers had when they sought to colorize Game Boy games.  http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2015/01/getting-out-digital-crayons-color-and.html  The two main hardware methods were the Super Game Boy and the Game Boy Color.  In a followup to that blog entry, this blog entry let's talk about and show examples of how each method was used.


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You say "obsessed" as if it is a bad thing.

Willy Jetman Will Debut On PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch And Steam On January 31St

Badland Publishing is proud to announce the imminent launch of Willy Jetman: Astromonkey's Revenge, an irresistible fusion of platformer, action shooter and adventure, with touches of RPG, developed entirely in Spain by Barcelona-based Last Chicken Games. From January 31st, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Steam users will be able to travel to the planet Gravos to embody Willy, the most unusual hero on the Galaxy.

Willy isn't a space adventurer, nor is he a brave rebel willing to take down a Galactic Empire: he's a trashman who's charged with cleaning up the wreckage of a cargo ship on the surface of Gravos. With the only company of his spaceship AI, Willy will soon find that the mission will be more complicated than it seemed at first glance...

Willy Jetman: Astromonkey's Revenge follow the path of classics like Solar Jetman and Cave Story to create an exciting Metroidvania adventure where our character's aim and jetpacking skills will be as important as exploring every corner of Gravos.

Features:

• A whole world to explore. Below the surface of Gravos there is a complex system of caves and grottos, full of traps and lava rivers. It is even rumored that the planet hide the vestiges of an ancient civilization.
• Space recycling. Collect the remains of the AC-137 cargo ship and transport them to the recycling points scattered around the planet. Sustainability is money!
• Exotic and aggressive fauna. Flying fish, stone giants, giant wasps, dragons, and the most spectacular and gritty bosses are waiting to finish you off.
• Armed and ready for action. Collect Crush'N Go! coupons to add new weapons to your arsenal and power them up with the Gravitonium you can collect inside the caves. Flamethrower, machine gun, ray gun, grenades... each weapon is perfect for neutralizing each kind of enemy.
• Talk to the locals. Gain their trust and you can visit the Gravonite Village. The customers of the O Lá! Là! Tavern will give you valuable clues and don't forget to visit the public toilets, because it is rumoured that they hide more than they appear at first sight.
• On the hunt for the golden trophy. There are 20 statuettes hidden all over Gravos. Find them and visit the Gravonite Village's PeachStore to unlock exclusive upgrades.
• Shooter action, exploration, RPG elements and lots of humour. An Old School adventure that will test your reflexes as you travel through an alien world full of life and secrets.

From 16 January until the game's launch on 31 January, Nintendo Switch users can preorder Willy Jetman: Astromonkey's Revenge at a reduced price.

Willy Jetman: Astromonkey's Revenge will be available in digital format for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Steam from January 31st. To find out more about Willy's odyssey visit willyjetman.com.

Brave Browser the Best privacy-focused Browser of 2020

Out of all the privacy-focused products and apps available on the market, Brave has been voted the best. Other winners of Product Hunt's Golden Kitty awards showed that there was a huge interest in privacy-enhancing products and apps such as chats, maps, and other collaboration tools.

An extremely productive year for Brave

Last year has been a pivotal one for the crypto industry, but few companies managed to see the kind of success Brave did. Almost every day of the year has been packed witch action, as the company managed to officially launch its browser, get its Basic Attention Token out, and onboard hundreds of thousands of verified publishers on its rewards platform.

Luckily, the effort Brave has been putting into its product hasn't gone unnoticed.

The company's revolutionary browser has been voted the best privacy-focused product of 2019, for which it received a Golden Kitty award. The awards, hosted by Product Hunt, were given to the most popular products across 23 different product categories.

Ryan Hoover, the founder of Product Hunt said:

"Our annual Golden Kitty awards celebrate all the great products that makers have launched throughout the year"

Brave's win is important for the company—with this year seeing the most user votes ever, it's a clear indicator of the browser's rapidly rising popularity.

Privacy and blockchain are the strongest forces in tech right now

If reaching 10 million monthly active users in December was Brave's crown achievement, then the Product Hunt award was the cherry on top.

The recognition Brave got from Product Hunt users shows that a market for privacy-focused apps is thriving. All of the apps and products that got a Golden Kitty award from Product Hunt users focused heavily on data protection. Everything from automatic investment apps and remote collaboration tools to smart home products emphasized their privacy.

AI and machine learning rose as another note-worthy trend, but blockchain seemed to be the most dominating force in app development. Blockchain-based messaging apps and maps were hugely popular with Product Hunt users, who seem to value innovation and security.

For those users, Brave is a perfect platform. The company's research and development team has recently debuted its privacy-preserving distributed VPN, which could potentially bring even more security to the user than its already existing Tor extension.

Brave's effort to revolutionize the advertising industry has also been recognized by some of the biggest names in publishing—major publications such as The Washington Post, The Guardian, NDTV, NPR, and Qz have all joined the platform. Some of the highest-ranking websites in the world, including Wikipedia, WikiHow, Vimeo, Internet Archive, and DuckDuckGo, are also among Brave's 390,000 verified publishers.

Earn Basic Attention Token (BAT) with Brave Web Browser

Try Brave Browser

Get $5 in free BAT to donate to the websites of your choice.